Answering Service for Healthcare Providers

Providing quality patient care goes beyond doctor visits. Outside the consultation room, patients need assistance scheduling appointments, answering queries, or filing claims. However, managing patient calls while focusing on consultations and other responsibilities can be quite overwhelming.

Fielding calls can take up valuable time and energy. And when there’s too much on one’s plate, things are bound to slip through the cracks. Getting virtual answering services for healthcare facilities helps manage the workload of medical providers while providing high-quality services for their patients.

An answering service for healthcare service providers is a call-handling solution specializing in supporting medical practices, hospitals, and other healthcare providers. This service ensures that patient concerns are addressed, from treatment inquiries to appointment scheduling.

Answering service providers can offer their support remotely, eliminating the need to invest in new equipment, new hires, or office space. Plus, they can operate across various time zones, operating 24/7 if needed.

Medical answering services benefit both medical professionals and their patients. Healthcare providers have a team to share the administrative workload with, while patients can get compassionate and timely assistance.

Increased Availability

Patients may need access to healthcare professionals outside of regular office hours. An after hours answering service for healthcare facilities can make sure the healthcare provider continues to be available even when the doctors, nurses, or onsite receptionists are off-duty. They ensure inquiries, requests, and concerns are handled, improving response rates and earning patient trust.

Professional Services

If you hire from a reputable staffing agency with remote workers specializing in telehealth, you can rest assured that the service will be provided by well-trained professionals who understand HIPAA compliance, medical terminologies, and patient confidentiality. Their expertise promises a professional, informative, and compassionate approach.

Improved Patient Experience

Patients, especially those with urgent medical concerns, expect timely and compassionate responses from their healthcare providers. A virtual answering service for mental healthcare facilities, clinics, or general practices ensures every call is handled promptly and with care. This reduces patient anxiety and improves overall patient satisfaction.

Improved Operations

Having a team to handle the routine yet time-consuming task of incoming calls allows healthcare providers to streamline their daily operations. Getting a professional answering service ensures that communication remains organized and patient-focused, leading to more efficient medical practice operations.

Time and Energy Saving

Being in the medical field can take a toll on an individual. Aside from the long hours and huge responsibility associated with treating patients, healthcare providers must also juggle administrative tasks, like handling patient inquiries and appointment scheduling.

This wide variety of responsibilities can be overwhelming. By getting a medical answering service partner to take on admin tasks, medical professionals can concentrate on the core part of their job and minimize the risk of burnout.

Medical answering services can unload a lot of the administrative burden from healthcare professionals.

• Appointment scheduling and reminders: Having a team that can handle appointment scheduling and send reminders can help medical professionals manage their time well and minimize no-shows.
• Emergency call routing: Medical answering service agents can route urgent calls to on-call doctors or refer them to emergency healthcare practices. They can ensure emergency patients get the urgent medical attention they need.
• Prescription refill requests: Answering service providers, assisting with medication refill inquiries, and forwarding them to the right medical staff.
• Patient inquiry management: Trained medical answering service teams can help manage a practice’s inquiries. They offer general information about services, clinic hours, and insurance coverage.
• After-hours call handling: A lot of healthcare providers don’t operate 24/7, but patient concerns don’t stop outside clinic hours. Answering service companies ensure after-hours calls are answered professionally and take note of important concerns when needed.
• Call routing: Patients don’t want the experience of having to call a number and be routed multiple times before landing on the person they need to talk to. Medical call center agents can act as virtual receptionists, who field calls and direct important calls to the appropriate department or individual.
• Data management: During calls, agents can create or update patient files in compliance with HIPAA regulations. They help ensure records are updated and kept confidential.

Partnering with the right answering services provider is essential for maintaining seamless communication, complying with healthcare industry regulations, and ensuring patient satisfaction. When selecting a provider, healthcare practice managers or owners must look for the following key factors:

HIPAA Compliance

Protecting patient data is critical. Make sure the answering service follows HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws for patient privacy. Doing so will prevent unauthorized access to sensitive medical information and help maintain customer trust.

24/7 Availability

A service provider should be able to offer the option of providing round-the-clock answering services. They can help ensure that their client’s patients receive timely responses even outside operating hours.

Industry Experience

Call center service providers must be trained in medical terminology and communicating with patients.

Customizable Experience

Different practices have varying requirements. A medical answering services provider must be able to provide tailored solutions based on what their client is looking for.

Security

Healthcare professionals must always protect their data and patients’ information. They must look for an answering services provider that employs strict cybersecurity measures, including SEG, advanced password management, secure cloud infrastructure, and so on.

Finding the right answering service provider can be a headache. 20four7VA is a virtual assistant (VA) staffing company helping healthcare practice managers and owners enjoy the benefits of outsourcing their call-handling requirements.

20four7VA’s award-winning team gives healthcare practices access to its end-to-end solutions, which include:

• Free client-answering service VA pairing
• Recruitment and screening assistance
• Dedicated account manager
• In-house training
• VA performance management
• Payroll processing
• And more